Electric furnace.



E. WASSMER.

ELECTRIC FURNAGE.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 1o, 1910.

Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

a fr;

E. WASSMER.

ELECTRIC FURNAUB.

APPLICATION FILED Dnc. 1o, 1910.

Patented Feb. 21, `1911.

2 SH BTS-SHEET 2.

EUGENE WASSMEB, 0F LONDON, ENGLAND.

ELECTRIC FURNACE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. ai, ieri.

Application filed December 10, 1910. Serial No. 596,644.

To -all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE WASSMER, residing at IF Hyde Park Mansions,London,.W., England, have invented new and useful Improvements in andConnected with Electric Furnaces, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in and connected with electricfurnaces by meansof which certain advantages are obtained. And it hasspecialthough not exclusive reference to furnaces for the treatment ofgases such for example as-the oxida'- tion of the nitrogen ofatmospheric air or the production of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen.

In carrying my invention into effect I introduce the gases into achamber, hereinafter termed the reaction chamber, of such form andmaterial and so provided with devices that the gases are subjected tothe high temperature of the electric arc in a `novel manner so as tobring about the desired reaction and then cooled to a sulicient degreeto prevent any further and undesired reaction taking place.

For the purpose of establishing t-he arc I provide `the reaction chamberwith elec-A trodes, preferably of the novel kind hereinafter described,and I cause the arc formed between these electrodes, and also the gasesintroduced into the reaction chamber, to impinge upon a novel device,hereinafter termed the incandescer, the effect of which is to bringabout a more intimate contact between the molecules of the gases takingpart in the reaction whereby the desired reaction is more readilyobtained. I also cause the gases to be cooled by cooling devices,adapted to the reaction chamber, as soon as possible after the desiredreaction has taken place so as to prevent any further and undesiredreaction taking place.

The incandescer consists of a perforated diaphragm or grid or the likeof refractory material, such for example as oxid of magnesiuin,sustained on a refractory support so as to be spaced away from the wallsof the reaction chamber and its position may be made adjustable inanyconvenient way if desired.

Ilhe 'cooling' devices'which I employ for the reaction chamber may be ofany conexample. as radiating water or brine ducts,

water jets. These degills, water jackets, or-1n some cases open vicesare applied at that part of the reactiony by' theincandescer and theyare placed as close as may be convenlent to the incandescer so thatcooling may take place as quickly as possible after the desired reactionhas been obtained.

My electrodes may be formed of any of the usual materials combine withany of the gases introduced except those which would a into the reactionchamber to form a gaseous product. Thus carbon electrodes would beinadmissible in the case whereoxygen is one of the gases admitted as thecarbon lmonoxid or dioxid produced would interfere with the reaction.Copper electrodes as well as most metallic electrodes have the.

disadvantage of melting at a comparatively low' temperature and theexisting means of cooling, -such for example as the provision of waterducts and radiating gills, are not alone sufficient to prevent fusion orpiercing of the metal. In constructing my electrodes therefore Ipreferably us copper owing to its high conductivity and in addition toproviding my electrodes with the usual means of cooling I provide their'tips with pits or depressions into which I tit plugs of some refractorymaterial such for example as iron and I may protect' the tips or exposedparts of the plugs with a refractory material such for example as oxidof magnesium.

In order that my invention may be readily understood I shall now proceedto describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure I is a diagram showing in vertical section a form of my inventionin which the cooling is produced by a brine jacket.

AIt is to be understood that the relative di? mensions of the partsshown in the diagram are not to be 'taken as indicative of what would beemployed for any particular reaction. -The actual dimensions 'especiallywith regard to the distance between the incandescer and the coolingchamber depend to a large extent upon the particular reaction to bebrought about. Fig. II is a diagram showing a modified form of myinvention (hereinafter termed my duplex form) in which two opposingcurrents of gases are employed to impinge upon two incandescers from thespace between which the products of the reaction are led to coolingdevices. Fig-III shows a simple form of electrode,

vmomentary contact and then 'separating' Iand Fig. IV a form ofelectrode having a water circulation' for purposes of cooling.

Referring now to Fig.' I, 1, 2, are the electrodes between which 'thearc is established.

This maybe effected by bringing them into them to strike the arc; or bythe 'employment of a combustible bridging piece of carbon When thislatter plan isl ladopted care must of course be taken to or the like.

reject any carbon monoXid or vjdioX'idas hereinbefore mentioned-unlessof course the case be one in which the presence of suchgases is notdeleterious. 4The electrodes 1,

upward velocity cause the are to be deflected or blown upward vagainstthe incandescer and through the oriflcesthereof, The 1ncandescer is thusheated to a very high temperature and brings about a reaction betweenthe gases admitted in the space 9 which I term the reaction chamber.Thus if the gases admitted be nitrogen and oxygen the nitrogen isoxidized and we have one orv more of the nitrogen oXid's formed. Therewould however be a likelihood of the said oXid or oXids being againsplit up into the constituents thereof were the temperature to remain(sufficiently high. I therefore provide a cooling device of anyconvenient kind as hereinbefore'mentioned immediately above the reactionchamber and surrounding what I term the cooling chamber 10. In the caseillustrated the cooling device Iisassumed'to be a brine jacket, the

brine entering say at 11l and leaving say yat 12. After passing throughthe coolinfr chamber the gas or gases are drawn o through the flue 13.rand can then be condensed, treated and/.0r separatedby known means. i

The function of the incandescer is to break up the stream of the gasesentering the arc chamber into'a number-of streams which pass through thelorifices vafter the manner of a number of jet-s, and so aid in bringingthemolecules of the gases into contact at a high temperature and socause them to combine readily. The. cooling should of course vary withvthe reaction taking place.4 In the case-of oxygen and "fr nitrogentherefore the cooling should be suiicient to reduce the combined gas orgases to a temperature below that at which they may'split up into theirconstitutents, a temperature. which I believe to be about 1600 degreescentigrade.

The respective positions of the electrodes and the `incandescershould`be easily and readily 'adjustable so as to suit different reactions. gIn-Fig. II, I show what I term anduplex form of my invention. Here itwill be seen that the electrodes 1,'2,`instead of being placed `side byside are placed opposite to one another and that two incandescers 8, 8",are placed-between them and that the space between the said incandescersconstitute the reaction chamber 9. ,In this case the gases'y are ledfrom the reaction chamber by a short tube 14 direct to -a separatecooling chamber of any convenient kind. The gasesare. forced into theare chambers 7, 7 X, in the direction shown by the arrows.l i

I do not limit myself to any particularform of arrangementof'the severalparts described and I may multiply the `number of reaction chambersand/or of the 4,other parts and force gases through them in parallel.

In FigIII', I show a simple form of elecy trode constructed preferablyof copper owing to itsl being a good thermal aswell as a good electricalconductor. It has however the disadvantage aspreviously mentioned ofmelting vat a comparatively low temperat-ure. I therefore provide thetip of the electrode with `a plug 15 of refractory' material ofaluminium or iron. l

In Fig. IV, I show in section a cooled electrode whichis adapted forhigher teml peratures than is the simple electrode shown in Fig: III.This electrode is cooled by circulating water 'or brine through the-passage 16 in the well known manner employed' in furnace twyers. -Thisform is also proz vided with an iron or aluminium plug 15.

I have shown the plugs ofiron or aluminium as being flush with theextremity of the electrode. I desire it to be understood however thatthey may project'toany desired extentbeyond the extremityv of theelectrode.

It is not necessary that the reaction'chamber should be definitelydelined and bounded by walls as in some cases it will suilice if itbe amere' space below the incandescer in which anarc can be established soas to maintain the incandescer at they high-temperature required.

I look-upon the reaction chamber'as the space in which the desiredreactiontakesV place and it is not'necessarily the space which isseparated from .the arc chamber by the incandescen It is impossible orpractically so to define at what position the reaction commences andends and it is not unlikely that the spaces within the oriices of theincandescer and perhaps apart even of the arc chamber may be in realityapart ofl the reaction chamber. y

By a cooling chamber I mean the space in l below the point ofdissociation and wherever this cooling chambermay be situated.

I desire it to be understoodithat I do not necessarily employ myincandescer in con 5 function with my form' of electrode. I may ifdesired employ it in conjunction' with other forms of electrode andconversely I may employ my electrodes without employing a mncandescer atall. Further I may lo'employ my incandescer and -my electrodes in otherforms of' electric `furnace. l

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure-.by l Letters Patent, is 15 A n electricurnace'comprisingthecombination of an are chamber, a pair of electrodes,two lneandescers 1n the `shape of perforated grids betweenthe electrodestoV 'EUGENE wAssMER;

VVitnesses: l

RIPLEY WILSON, v ARTHUR GEORGE STEVENS.

